Measures collected at the end of seventh grade were examined as possible correlates of risk status. Youth provided self-reports of their pubertal development using the Pubertal Development Scale (Petersen et al. 1988), rating their physical development (for boys, voice changes, facial hair; for girls, breast development, onset of menstruation). A total score was used (α =0.75 for boys, α =0.61 for girls). To assess depression, youth completed the Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale (RADS) (Reynolds & Mazza, 1998), rating 30 items describing depressive symptoms on a 4-point rating scale (α=0.90 in this sample). Assessing deviant peer affiliation, youth rated 5 items describing gang involvement (e.g., gang membership, length of affiliation), and parents rated 10 items describing the child’s close friends (e.g., disapproval of the friends, concerns about negative influence), with the total score reflecting deviant friends (α=0.87). Youth rated their school adjustment on 8 items describing academic and disciplinary difficulties during the prior school year using a 5-point scale (“I stayed out trouble at school”, “School work was really hard” – reverse scored, “I did not do well in academics” – reverse scored) (α=0.75).
